2003-05-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m led to continue writing about what Christ says about who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven in the Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we looked at MT 5: 7, which told us, “Blessed are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them.” Now, we will pick up with MT 5: 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart; they will see God!” From the first time I read this verse, a picture of Moses came into my mind. While Moses wasn’t the first one to have God’s companionship, he is the first one to really begin to experience God’s glory first-hand [EX 34: 29 & 34]. That is why he began wearing a veil over his face when he had just spoken with God; God’s shekinah glory was reflected from his face temporarily, and he didn’t want to frighten the people who didn’t understand it. We all know that at the time Moses is first called to lead the Jews out of Egyptian slavery, he asserted that he was unqualified for this job due to a speech impediment [EX 3: 11 & 4: 10]. But, as always, God’s omniscience and omnipotence (His total knowledge and power) are supreme. We have plenty of evidence that God created certain people for tasks that He knew before they were born they would be fitted to do. We need only look at PS 139: 13-16 and JER 1: 4 to see that. As with Abraham before him, Moses was known by God to have a faithful and obedient enough heart to carry out the tasks for which God created him. These men were pure in heart. I believe that we have evidence that Moses was pure in heart and went to heaven in his appearance with Christ in the transfiguration in MT 17: 3. It is also my understanding that these famous men from the OT are not the only ones in history who have pure hearts, nor are they the only ones who will see God.
The incarnation of Jesus Christ on earth and God’s unparalleled sacrifice of His Son on the cross made the way open for ordinary people like you and me to have our minds inwardly transformed by their renewal by Him [RO 12: 2]. This means that we are willing to repent of our sin and to live “in Christ.” COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life if hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” We are baptized in union with Christ and thus, we relate to His death and His resurrection. “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves to sin…In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus” [RO 6: 6, 11].
There are four ways we who are pure in heart shall see God: 1) through fellowship in the Word and Spirit; 2) some will see God through a supernatural appearance or vision; 3) in the Person of Jesus Christ when He comes again; 4) all the pure in heart will see Him in the eternal Kingdom. None of this would be possible without the suffering and death of Christ on the cross and a person’s willingness to repent and come to faith in Him. To me, the alternative is unthinkable. Very recently, I attended the anointing of a wonderfully faithful lady who is suffering from a very rare form of cancer. To my way of thinking, her powerful faith did as much for us as our prayers, Scripture readings, and singing did for her. This lady is pure in heart, asked the elders to anoint her, obeying JAS 5: 13-14. Her faith is so strong that not even losing half her body weight has shaken it. The fellowship that we all shared in the Word came to all of us through the Holy Spirit. Rather than being maudlin, this experience reminded us that as long as we endure in our faith, we will all share in the joy of seeing God in His Kingdom together. I have never had a vision, but I certainly believe others, like John and Peter, for example, did. I believe firmly in the message of 1 THESS 4: 13-17 which speaks of the rapture and ZECH 14: 4 which describes the second coming of Christ as “His feet will touch on the Mt. of Olives.” Those who endure in their faith will live to see both these events. And lastly, the hope of the resurrection which Paul speaks of in RO 8: 29, when he describes Christ as “the First among many brothers,” is something that God has encouraged and that all true believers share. REV 21: 6-8 gives us the picture of the fulfillment of that hope we all eagerly await. “And He said, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it. Whoever wins the victory will receive this from Me: I will be His God, and He will be My son. But cowards, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars-the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’” Dear Ones, those who endure in faith are the pure in heart who shall see God! It is my hope that all of us will be this.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your heart is so gentle, compassionate, kind, righteous, and pure. We stand before Your altar today with the desire to get rid of our deceitful and sinful hearts to be replaced by the heart You so badly want for us. We acknowledge just as Paul did in RO 7: 24-25 that faith in Jesus Christ is indeed the only way to do this. Only You have the supernatural power to transform our unrighteous hearts into ones that have been purified by the shedding of His blood. Only You can give us the faith and courage of that faith to endure through all the challenges Satan will mount to it. We recognize our utter dependence on You and the great sacrifice You made of Your Son on the cross to make such a transformation of our hearts possible. It is by Your supernatural power that all true believers can break down human-erected, artificial barriers such as economic status, race, job titles, denominations, gender, and others to make all believers of one heart in Christ, thus establishing the true Body of Christ. You do this through the process of sanctification, one individual at a time. We dedicate ourselves to remaining faithful, obedient, loyal, diligent, and trusting of You through daily time in Your word and an active prayer life. We acknowledge not only Your wonderful attributes, but also Your magnificent deeds. PS 9: 1-2, “I will thank You, Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” PS 100: 1, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!” You have our hearts, and we take comfort that the Spirit will eventually be victorious over the flesh in all who allow You to sanctify them. We are ever grateful that You have given us the Sermon on the Mount, so that we might know about a lifestyle that we can choose to live that will eventually lead us to joy and fellowship with You eternally in Your Kingdom. We eagerly await the day when we can gaze upon Your face without fear of death and feel Your warm and loving proximity. We pledge to live according to Christ’s new commandment of JN 13: 34-35 loving one another, as He loves us. We humbly confess our sins and offer You our heartfelt worship, adoration, glory, honor, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
In next week’s message, we will look at MT 5: 9 and discuss what it means to work for peace. When we came to faith, we became God’s adopted children. Remember that adopted children didn’t come by accident; they are always chosen. How blessed we are that our loving Abba called us to faith in Him, to desire purified hearts, to be eager to be reunited in heaven with Him, and to be willing to faithfully trust and obey Him. It is He Who gave us our faith, and it is He would made it possible for us to have our hearts transformed by Christ. It is He Who gave us the gift of His Spirit to dwell within us, and it is He Who wants as many as will open their hearts to Him to dwell with Him for eternity. We should join in this plea to God. PS 36: 9-10, “For You are the Fountain of life; our light is from Your light. Pour out Your unfailing love on those who know You! Never stop giving Your salvation to those who long to do Your will.” And we should take comfort in these verses: PS 34: 8, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” PS 63: 7, “Because Thou hast been my Help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” Our awesome God loves us beyond measure! Peter and I send each one of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn